BEAUMONT, TX-After two years of scouring the Gulf Coast for a site, Netherlands-based Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. NV has acquired 400,000 sf of vacant buildings on a 74-acre island across the bayou from the Downtown. The seller of the site, assessed at $13.5 million, is Dallas-based Trinity Industries Inc.
Chicago Bridge & Iron will use the industrial complex to manufacture and ship modular units internationally. Located at 850 Pine St., the site was developed in 1917 by Bethlehem ShipBuilding to construct and repair ships. Trinity Industries bought it during the 1980s to manufacture tank and rail cars.
According to Jim Talhelm, senior director in Houston for Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc., the site's drawing card was the existing structures and 2,000 feet of deep-water docks that are already in place. Chicago Bridge & Iron plans to demolish some buildings, dating back to the 1940s. The complex has been vacant about one year.
Talhelm tells GlobeSt.com that the retooled industrial complex will add 300 to 500 jobs to the area in the next year to 18 months, including a consolidation move for the buyer's Liberty, TX operation. "It's estimated that during the net 36 months, the total capacity will be almost 1000 people," Talhelm says. "Long term, the modular units CB&I builds, those will be shipped worldwide. That's why they needed the ability to move on water--to ship the product." Plus, he adds, the buyer is one of the bidders for the large fab projects at the LNG terminals near Beaumont.
Besides Talhelm, the buyer's C&W team included Scott Wegman, Kevin Erck and Justin Leighton, all in Houston, and Milt Prewitt with JM Prewitt Co. in Beaumont. Trinity Industries was self-represented.
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